Alex Salmond has refused to attend a Scottish Parliament debate on whether he
lied on national television about an independent Scotland’s status in the EU
and euro.

The First Minister instead dispatched his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, to defend him from accusations his credibility has been severely damaged and he has tarnished his office.

Rather than face MSPs, he attended a green energy conference in Glasgow at which he announced plans to further accelerate the rollout of wind farms across Scotland.

In his absence, opposition MSPs called for a judicial inquiry into his conduct and questioned how the SNP can continue to assert an independent Scotland would inherit the UK's EU membership and opt – out from the euro.

It also emerged that another senior European Commission official has confirmed that any new independent state created following a referendum would have to reapply.

The scandal centres on a BBC interview earlier this year in which Mr Salmond suggested he held legal advice supporting his claim about automatic membership.

“This is a matter about confidence and about confidence in the First Minister and it was shattered last week, not just because of the contradiction between what the Deputy First Minister had said last week and the First Minister in March,” he said.

“But because they continue to say those two statements are not contradictory. It’s not possible for both what Nicola Sturgeon said and what Alex Salmond said to both be right.”

Labour pointed out that Miss Sturgeon was the only Scottish minister to defend Mr Salmond’s conduct during the debate.

Speaking afterwards, Paul Martin, the party’s business manager, said: “This smacks of a government that no longer believes in its leader. Nicola Sturgeon is now Salmond’s only defender.”

A letter emerged yesterday from Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for Justice, saying she agreed that if a “referendum were to result in an independent state, this state could not become a member of the EU.”

In a further embarrassment for Mr Salmond, John Mason, an SNP backbencher said there was no definitive answer and EU membership would be subject to negotiations.

However, the First Minister was at a conference hosted by RenewableUK, the green energy companies’ trade body, announcing that he wants half Scotland’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2015.

This is an increase from the current target of 35 per cent but the Tories said the new policy is “completely underpinned by wind power” and will require even more turbines to be built.

Murdo Fraser, convener of Holyrood’s energy committee, said: “Communities whose landscapes risk being wrecked by the march of wind farms will not be impressed to hear the First Minister outline his desire to build even more.”